My View, Ben Parksinson: I'm heading for Greenland with a kayak

Another busy weekend.

On Friday night I travelled down to Skern Lodge in Devon for the last training session before the kayaking trip to Greenland.

Unlike all our other trips, which have been down some pretty massive rivers, this time we will be going on the open sea.

And it is a very cold sea at that.

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We are going to be kayaking round the icebergs in that part of the world, and we will be on the look out for bears of a different colour – polar bears.

Going with me this time as carer and paddling partner is Benny.

He is my mate from my regiment in the army.

Benny was with me before I was injured.

He was also with me when I was injured.

In fact he helped put me on the medivac flight, and he’s been there ever since.

It has also been amazing that his mum was driving the ambulance that picked me up from Brize Norton and took me to hospital in Birmingham for treatment.

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Well now he is to be at my command in Greenland for our trip there.

He enjoyed the training in the pool at Skern Lodge.

But he was less impressed when we went out onto the open sea.

It was pretty choppy, but I was in the front of the boat and couldn’t see how he was panicking behind.

He’ll learn.

After leaving the army Benny became a paramedic on the air ambulance.

So he is well qualified.

He will just have to learn certain things as he goes along!

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When we had finished the training for the trip, we then moved on to tackle the assault course.

There was a huge telegraph pole that you climb up and abseil down.

Due to the very slight inconvenience of no legs, I decided to pull myself to the top using shoulder power alone.

Well ,it worked.

I got to the top.

But after having done it I’ve since wished that I could have someone else’s shoulders for a week.

Pain is merely weakness leaving the body.

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Well, I wish in this case that it would leave a bit quicker!

Something much more serious now.

It’s a terrible fact that 22 veterans commit suicide every day in America.

And lots of former soldiers over here at home suffer from PTSD.

So to make everyone aware, not for money, lots of us are doing the 22 challenge – 22 press-ups every day for 22 days.

Then you nominate someone to carry on.

Well I’ve started mine and I now nominate David Kessen from the newspaper.

Over to you David.